Job 6: Disassemble the Playfield

Here's what we're dealing with:

It's not a complicated playfield and it doesn't have any craziness like a roto target or spinners, but there are just a lot of switches to unscrew.  Experience has taught me to think of this job in phases. Phase one: remove the plastics, posts, bulbs, rings and other surface items.

Here's what that looks like. Notice how dirty it is under the apron and how clean it is under the posts - especially noticeable around the center targets.  Check out the engineering behind that center element.

Here's a shot of everything I removed in this first phase, which I'll clean later. Except for the 2" screws, which will be ditched in favor of Phillips-head replacements.

That's way more posts than I would have estimated and fewer rubber rings.  Those amber tubes on the left go over the bulbs to shield the plastics and surrounding areas from heat. They won't be necessary when I install LED's.

Next, it was time to disassemble the rest, which includes unscrewing the standup and rollover targets (and taping them, along with their screws, to the back of the playfield), removing the flipper bats and pop bumpers and taking off the side rails.

Turning it upside down made it easier to get at some of the screws. All that's left is to remove the wire ball guides and I have a nice flat surface to start from!